smith



0. A.ISMITH AND G. J. LEBER.

FILE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 29. 1921.

Patented Jan. 31 1922.

UNITED sraa OSCAR A. SMITH, OFEAST CLEVELAND, AND GEORGE J. LEBER, 0F CLEVELAND, OHIO,

FILE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 29, 1921. Serial No. 456,611.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, OSCAR A. SMITH and GEORGE J. LEBER, both citizens of the United States, said SMITH residing at East Cleveland and said Lnnnn at Cleveland, in.the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Files, of which the following is a specification. p

This invention relates to files, an object thereof being to provide an improved device of this type which will be simple in construction, durable and serviceable in use, adapted for a variety of purposes, and economical to manufacture.

A further object of this invention is to provide a file or the like adapted to be used for holding'newspapers, magazines, letters, or other articles, the same comprising a spring adapted to normally rest in a depression stamped or formed integrally in the base of the device, whereby the thinnest piece of paper or other article may be firmly held between the spring and the base with out necessitating any expensive independent or separate means for accomplishing this end.

A further object of this invention is to provide a file preferably constructed with a coiled spring, which is secured to the base in an efficient, simple, and economical manner, thus enabling the device to be constructed veryvcheaply but at the same time rendering the same elficient in use, the construction and. manner of fastening the spring being such that the same, together with the other parts may be readily detached and replaced. Thus, great advantages are secured by our improved structure due to the fact, first, that the coiled spring has a relatively long life, and secondly, due to the fact that by making the same detachable from the main part or base of the file, new springs may be substituted for those worn out, thereby prolonging the utility of the device, as a whole, and at a minimum of expense.

Other objects of this invention will appear in the following description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, wherein like reference characters indicate corresponding parts in the several views, and wherein Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of our invention; F ig.

2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 Fig.

Patented Jan. 31,1922; 5

1; Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 F 1g. 2; Fig. 4 1s a detail view, parts being removed in order to illustrate the sprlng connectlon; and F ig. 5 .is a detail View illustrating a manner of securing/the spring to the base.

With reference to the drawing, it-win be seen that our improved filing device'in its preferred form herein shown and described, comprises a base 10 preferably formed of wood. Carried by this baseand adapted to be secured thereto is a plate 11 preferably stamped up or formed from sheet metal and provided centrally thereof with a depres s1on or'groove 12 extending lengthwise of the plate, A depression or a groove 13 is also prov ded for the purpose of facilitating theinsertion of the fingers underneaththe spring in order to grasp the same. Adapted to normally rest in the groove 12 is a coiled spring 14, which in turn is secured to the plate 11 by means of wires or other flexible fastening means 15. The inner end of each flexible wire or fastening 15 is formed with an enlarged looped or bent portion 16 freely engaging the inner ends of the coiled spring. The outer ends of the fastening members 15 are bent as at 17 for the purpose of securing the same to the base or plate 11, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2.- The sheet metal plate 11 is provided with a pair ofholes or apertures 18 at the opposite ends thereof and a part of the platell is bent, or offset as at 19 to provide a slot 20 adapted to receive the outer hook portion 17 of'the fastening member 15. The plate 11 is then In Fig. 5 we have illustrated a modified form of our invention, wherein the spring 14: is secured directly to the base 10 pref erably formed of wood or any other suitable material. member 15 is provided with a bent or hooked portion 17 at its outer end, which is detachably secured to the base by means of a screw 21 engaging the same. i

It will thus be seen that by virtue of the coiled spring 14:, a large number of folds of paper or a relatively large number of articles may be held and resiliently retained between the spring 141 and the plate 11 or the base 10. e

In this case thefastening It will also be observed that by virtue of the depression 12 readily and inexpensively formed or stamped integrally of the base plate and adapted to normally house the spring therein, the thinnest piece of paper may be firmly held by the spring through the wedging of the same between the top surface or face of the base plate and the side edges of the depression. Thus it is not necessary to attempt to utilize separate or independent means for accomplishing this purpose, as such means obviously neither have the utility nor the efficacy and economy of the depression formed below the normal upper face of the base. When the spring 14 rests in the depression 12 the same may be readily grasped and withdrawn therefrom for the insertion of a paper or article by virtue of the depression or groove 13 formed transversely of the depression 12, the same thereby facilitating the insertion of the fingers underneath the spring.

Furthermore it will be seen that the spring 14 is effectively secured to the base by fastening means 15, which are connected thereto interiorly of the spring, but independently thereof, and that common means, such as the screws 21, are utilized for securing the fastening means 15 to the plate 11 and the plate 11 to the base 10. Also by virtue of this construction the parts are rendered detachable and any or all of them may be readily replaced at any time as desired.

Although we have described our invention in its preferred form, it is to be understood that We do not limit ourselves to the construction herein shown and described, except in so far as defined in the claims and embraced within the scope thereof.

Ve claim as our invention:

1. As an article of manufacture a file comprising a base having a depression formed therein below the top of said base and a spring having its opposite ends secured to the base and extending lengthwise of and normally adapted to rest in said depression,

said depression having a laterally extending depression.

2. As an article of manufacture a file comprising a base having a depression formed therein below the top of said base and a coiled spring having its opposite ends secured to the base and extending lengthwise of and normally adapted to rest in said depression, said depression having a laterally extending depression.

3. As an article of manufacture a file comprising a stamped up sheet metal base having a depression formed therein below the top of said base and a coiled spring having its opposite ends secured to the base and extending lengthwise of and normallyadapted to rest in said depression, said depression having a laterally extending depression.

a. As an article of manufacture, a file comprising a base having a depression formed therein below the top of said base, a coiled spring extending lengthwise of and normally adapted to rest in said depression, said spring having end portions extending above and beyond the ends of the depression and secured to the base, whereby said spring is adapted to have an unrestricted resilient movement independent of said depression.

5. As an article of manufacture a file comprising a stamped up sheet metal base having a. depression formed therein below the top of said base and a coiled spring having its ends secured to the base beyond the ends of said depression and extending lengthwise of and normally adapted to rest in said depression, said depression having a'laterally extending depression. A

6. As an article of manufacture a file comprising a stamped up sheet metal .base having a depression formed therein below the top of said base and a coiled spring having its ends secured to the base beyond the ends of said depression and extending lengthwise of and normally adapted to rest in said depression, said depression having a laterally extending depression at each'side thereof.

7. As an article of manufacture a file comprising a base, a coiled spring carried thereby, flexible fastening means having at one end looped portions engaging said spring interiorly thereof, and independent means engaging the opposite end of said fastening means for detachably securing the same to said base.

8. As an article of manufacture, a file comprising a base, a plate secured thereto, a coiled spring carried thereby, fastening means having enlarged portions engaging said spring interiorl'y thereof, and a common means for securing said fastening means and said plate to the base, said fastening means having hooked portions and said plate having offset portions adapted to receive said hooked portions.

9. As an article of manufacture, a file comprising a base provided with a depression integrally formed therein and having continuous side walls, a coiled spring normally housed in said depression and c011- nected to the base beyond the ends of said depression whereby said spring is adapted to have an unrestricted resilient movement between its ends independently of the base.

10. As an article of manufacture a file comprising a base having a depression, a coiled spring supported lengthwise of said depression, fastening means freely engaging said spring interiorly'thereof for securing the'spring to said base, and means engaging said fastening means for detachablysecuring said spring to the base. I

11. As an article of manufacture a file comprising a base, a coiled spring carried transversely thereof, fastening means connected to the opposite ends of said spring, and independent means for cooperating with said fastening means for detachably securing the same to said base.

12. As an article of manufacture a file comprising a base, a plate carried thereby having a pair of transverse depressions 10 stamped therein, a coiled spring normally housed in one of said depressions and adapted to retaln an article within sald depresslon, and a common means for detach-V ably securing said spring, plate, and base together. 1

Signed at Cleveland, county of Cuyahoga and tate of Ohio, this 23rd day of March, 

